"Today Our attention is directed to one of the most common of them (abuses), one of the most difficult to eradicate, and the existence of which is sometimes to be deplored in places where everything else is deserving of the highest praise; the beauty and sumptuousness of the temple, the splendor and the accurate performance of the ceremonies, the attendance of the clergy, the gravity and piety of the officiating ministers. Such is the abuse affecting sacred chant and music."- St. Pius X, Pope

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Priest attacked, guilty of celebrating the Latin Mass

"You have been tough, but we will smash your head. Signed, Your friend Satan". That was one of several threatening messages sent to Father Hernán García Pardo, parish priest of San Michele, in Ronta [Mugello region of the Province of Florence, Tuscany]. His fault [was] that of celebrating the Latin Mass, liberalized by Benedict XVI in September 2007.

The warnings, which had been recurrent for some time, had not made the priest, who despite everything has continued to say Mass according to the ancient rite, give up. The last chapter [took place] last Wednesday, when he was beaten up by a 'faithful' in the town's rectory in the presence of his aged mother. The beating led to bruising on his back; having been sent to the emergency room of Borgo San Lorenzo, he was medicated.

The news item was published today in the Giornale della Toscana; the accusations made against Father Hernán are those of scattering the flock; above all, he is not forgiven for distributing communion in the mouth [to the] kneeling [faithful], instead of on the hand, in the same manner as Benedict XVI. For others, the Italian-Argentine priest has only brought back some sacred austerity to the parish, excluding guitars from the functions and bringing back to within the walls of the church the ancient Gregorian chant. ...[Source: Il sito di Firenze][Other sources: Libero News, La Nazione; tip: Secretum meum mihi.]

8 comments:

If someone doesn't like high mass, why on earth wouldn't he go to another parish? It's not as if there is only one parish per city.

And even if there were, if someone is so offended at the body and blood of Christ, why on earth are they still Catholics? There's no shortage of Protestant denominations which will cater to whatever musical taste you have and even give you the "grape juice an crackers" in your seats.

There is an intelligence at work in this as in so many things. What is desired is that people are in conflict and tempted to hatred. It is not concerned with matters of truth and falsehood except insofar as these are incitements to war. It does not want you to look in the face of those who disagree with you... rather it wants you to place them in some anonymous group and depersonalize them. Once the assailant had convinced himself that Father Pardo was not a person but merely the representative of something he hated it was easy to justify violence. Fr Z's Blog contains the seeds of this same depersonalization and polarization. "But this is how liberals work. They use violence, either by words or by actions."

Satan is at work here and he does not care which of you is right... only that you hate one another. St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us and preserve us from the snares of the devil who roams the earth seeking souls to devour.

We should always remember to attack the point and not the person. Dialogue exists when two friends of the light swear to each other to yield to the light and only the light.

A further example that is unproductive is the so-called "Vatican II moment" published on Rorate caeli. This is hardly constructive... perversion of what the Church intended is obviously not a Vatican II moment. Unless ... well, I'll leave that up to the readers' imagination.

Pascendi, good of you to comment on Rorate. I only look at that blog for news on the TLM movement, its other posts are deplorable and despicable and Vat-II bashing. It's those kinds of things that make other Catholics hate the traditionalist movement.

As to the topic at hand, Vox et al. I'm thinking with the way things are going in the Church and the world, I say we people with the TLM should start to acquire training in martial arts and other means to defend our priests and each other.

Now, how should we reply to those who hate us: love, penance, prayer and out reach. We should emulate Our Lord who teaches us to love those who hate us, and follow the examples of the saints who converted through preaching the Gospel (untainted - yes!!) but with compassion for the sinner (again, not the sin).

The hatred manifested towards public sinners by those who claim to be Christian really is disturbing. We can recall the mocking and degrading by innumerable nominal Christians during the Clinton crisis... we can then see similar hate-filled re-enactments when a so-called "conservative" falls. Why? Because of ideology. We are not ideological. This must be stated. We are followers of the Way, the Truth and the Life. No surprise then that the world was perplexed when JPII held a "far left" position today, and a "far right " position tomorrow. Inconsistent? No. He held the Gospel, the pick-and choose of ideology is the inconsistency.

The Bergoglian Heresies

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Rosicagate

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St. Pius X

"...the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions, and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalized cunning and force, and the oppression of the weak, and of all those who toil and suffer. [...] Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists."